After a devastating loss to South Carolina in the 2024 national championship game, Caitlin Clark concluded her historic career for Iowa women’s basketball.

Here are her post-game remarks.

Caitlin Clark reflects on the praise received from South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley after the championship game.

Question: Caitlin, I’m sure the moment stings quite a bit, but Dawn Staley just gave you some really, really strong and sincere praise on the podium, on the TV broadcast, for all you’ve done and all that she believes you’re about to do in the years to come. I wonder what that means to hear from her.

“I think any time someone like Coach Staley is able to recognize you and what you did for the game is obviously pretty special. Obviously she’s someone I respect so much. I respect what she’s done for South Carolina. I respect what she did as a player for our game.”

“Any time you can get the praises of her is pretty special. So it means a lot.”

Caitlin Clark looks back on the 2023-24 season.

Question: Caitlin, you said that you’ve not wanted to look beyond this game or whatever was next in front of you. Now what are the emotions, and what do you think going forward? Do you think about everything that you were able to do, especially this past season?

“Yeah, it’s certainly been a special year. To be honest, after last year I was kind of, like, how do we top doing what we did last year? Somehow, some way, every single person in our locker room believed. To be honest, this year was probably more special than last year.”

“The teams we had to go through to get to this point, we won the Big Ten tournament. We lost two players that were three-year starters for our program, and to be back in this position and come out here and battle — I mean, South Carolina is so good. There’s only so much you can do.”

“[Kamilla] Cardoso has 17 rebounds. They have 51 as a team. We have 29. Hard to win a basketball game like that. You’ve basically got to shoot perfect at that point.”

“I’m just proud of our group. We never backed down, and we gave it everything we’ve got.”

“For me, just the emotions will probably hit me over the next couple days. I don’t have much time to sit around and sulk and be upset. I don’t think that’s what I’m about either.”

“Yeah, I’m sad we lost this game, but I’m also so proud of myself, I’m so proud of my teammates, I’m so proud of this program. There’s a lot to be proud of.”

“But there’s going to be tears. It is sad this is all over, and this is the last time I’m going to put on an Iowa jersey.”

“I think just reflecting back and soaking in everything that I was able to do because basically anybody other than me and coach Bluder never thought this was possible.”

Caitlin Clark lives for the moment and not planning much for the near future.

Question: Caitlin, have you allowed yourself to be excited about what’s next, or have you been too focused on finishing your career here?

“I’ve been 110 percent focused on finishing my career here. That’s been my full focus. That’s been my driving force, and I think that’s what’s allowed me to play such great basketball through the month of March and April and through the end of our season, but really all year long.”

“It was never the decision of whether I was going pro or whether I was staying at Iowa, never was something I stressed on too much. I knew it was something that would become clear to me over time.”

“I think for me I know what’s next is soon. But at the same time, I’m not blind to the fact that I need to enjoy this, I need to soak this in and enjoy these last few moments with my teammates because these are some of my best friends. They’ll be my best friends for the rest of my life, and that’s what matters to me the most.”

Caitlin Clark on developing to grow women’s basketball

Question. Caitlin, you’ve done a lot for the Big Ten. The Big Ten gets maligned a lot, but you guys did a lot for the Big Ten. I’m sure you’re disappointed, but when you have a chance to look at the impact you’ve made, where the ratings are through the roof and most of it’s because of you, and then of course the Iowa team once again being in this position two years in a row. What will you look back at this time frame despite the not winning the championship?

“I think the biggest thing is it’s really hard to win these things. I think I probably know that better than most people by now. To be so close twice, it definitely hurts, but at the same time, we were right there. We battled. We took down some really great teams to get back to this point. It’s something that’s really hard to do.”

“When I think about women’s basketball going forward, obviously it’s just going to continue to grow, whether it’s at the WNBA level, whether it’s at the college level. Everybody sees it. Everybody knows. Everybody sees the viewership numbers.”

“When you’re given an opportunity, women’s sports just kind of thrives. I think that’s been the coolest thing for me on this journey, we started our season playing in front of 55,000 people in Kinnick Stadium. And now we’re ending it playing in probably 15 million people or more on TV. It just continues to get better and better and better. That’s never going to stop.”

“When you continue to give them the platform, things like this are just going to continue to happen.”

Caitlin Clark discusses how women’s sports can capitalize its current momentum.

Question: Caitlin, what you and your team have accomplished in Iowa has made the whole world look at women’s sports and women’s basketball. How do you think all of women’s sports can capitalize on this momentum right now?

“I think the biggest thing is, for us, this team came along at a really good time, whether it was social media, whether it was NIL, whether it was our games being nationally televised. We’ve played on Fox, NBC, CBS, ESPN — you go down the list, and we’ve been on every national television channel. I think that’s been one of the biggest things that has helped us.”

“I think, no matter what sport it is, give then the same opportunities, believe in them the same, invest in them the same, and things are really going to thrive.”

“You see it with other sports, and I’m a big fan of other sports. Like I try to support as much as I can, and I think that’s the biggest thing is continue to invest your time, money and resources there, and continue to show up for those people and give them the opportunities.”

“I think that’s what’s going to help drive women’s sports forward in the future.”

Caitlin Clark reflects on her legacy within Iowa basketball.

Question: This is for all three of you (Clark’s teammate Kate Martin and head coach Lisa Bluder were also at the podium). What do you think the legacy of this team and this era is for Iowa basketball? And what’s probably the moment that stands out? Is it something on the floor? Is it something just among all of you? I guess what can you share?

” think this group has gone about it in the right way in every single thing that we’ve done in every phase of our life. I think that’s what you can be the most proud of.”

“We truly have each other’s back. Maybe we weren’t always the most skilled. Maybe we weren’t always the tallest. Maybe we weren’t always the fastest, but we just believed. We knew we could be in these moments. We trusted one another. That took a couple of years to get to that point.”

“There’s been so many great Iowa women’s basketball players to come before us and allow this program to be really, really good when Kate and I and everyone else stepped on campus. And I feel like we took it to a whole nother level. I feel like our program is in good hands moving forward.”

“I think more than anything people will probably remember our two Final Fours and things like that. But people aren’t going to remember every single win or every single loss. I think they’re just going to remember the moments that they shared at one of our games or watching on TV or how excited their young daughter or son got about watching women’s basketball. I think that’s pretty cool.”

“Those are the things that mean the most to me when people come up to me and — I don’t really get offended when people say I never watched women’s basketball before. I think, one, you’re a little late to the party, yes. But, two, that’s cool. We’re changing the game. We’re attracting more people to it.”

“But at the same time, those little things are, I think, the moments that we’ll remember forever.”

Caitlin Clark shares the message she’ll convey to kids who admire her.

Question: You’ve had an incredible journey to this point, especially with the historical viewership. What would you say to kids striving to be you right now?

“I would say I think the biggest thing is this is what I kind of said about my entire career is nobody really believed other than myself. I think confidence. I think as a young girl, just have confidence, a young boy, have confidence in yourself and confidence in whatever you want to be.”

“I think that was the thing that my parents instilled in me from a young age. They never told me no. They told me no about other things, but not in what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be and the goals I wanted to chase after.”

“I would say that’s the biggest thing. You’ve got to say it. You’ve got to work for it. You’ve got to earn it. You don’t ever want anything to be given to you.”

“That’s what I’m most proud of throughout my career, I’ve worked really hard to be in this moment. That’s where my confidence comes from. That’s the piece of advice I would give to the younger generation.”

 

“Yeah, I’m sad we lost this game, but I’m also so proud of myself, I’m so proud of my teammates, I’m so proud of this program. There’s a lot to be proud of.”

“But there’s going to be tears. It is sad this is all over, and this is the last time I’m going to put on an Iowa jersey.”

“I think just reflecting back and soaking in everything that I was able to do because basically anybody other than me and coach Bluder never thought this was possible.”